March 15, 2011

By Terri Wuerthner, About.com Contributing Writer
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Irish immigrants, attempting to flee British persecution, began appearing in New Orleans at the end of the 1700s. Even larger numbers of Irish started arriving in the 1820s when the famine drove them out of Ireland. The passage from Liverpool to New Orleans was cheap, so many Irish immigrants looking for a better life ended up in the Crescent City, though living conditions were less than ideal once they arrived.

The Irish left their stamp on New Orleans. There is even an area called the "Irish Channel," which is uptown, near the Garden District. This is the center of many St Patrick's Day festivities (see [Link] St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Cajun and Creole Louisiana [Link]).